FAKTA #65

The Bad World Tour was the debut solo concert tour by American recording artist Michael Jackson. Sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, the tour included 123 concerts to 4.4 million fans across 15 countries. The tour grossed $125 million, adding two new entries in the Guinness World Records for the largest grossing tour in history and the tour with the largest attended audience. Passing out, fainting, headaches, hysteria and being crushed amongst the huge crowds were a common occurrence for the fans in the audience. The Japan leg of the tour caused such excitement amongst crowds that Michael was dubbed “Typhoon Michael” by the Japanese press. Concerts were also attended by luminaries in the fields of entertainment and royalty, such as Stevie Wonder, Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Diana, Prince Charles, Bob Dylan and Jack Nicholson. In his downtime, Michael donated a large portion of his earnings from the tour to various charitable causes including the United Negro College Fund, Bambino Gesù Hospital, the Prince’s Trust, Give For Life and the Great Ormond Street Hospital.